Horizontally revolving stalk shredder



June 8, 1954 H. w. WHIPPLE HORIZONTALLY REVOLVING STALK SHREDDER Filed March 12. 1952 4 2 Sheeis-Sheet 1 3 lbll I'- 1N VENTOR.

ATTEI RN EYES Patented June 8, 1954 HORIZONTALLY REVQIJYLINGTSTAEK :SHREDDER Harry W. 'Whipple,"Harlingen, Tex., assignor of one-third tiiHugd-G. Tomich, 'GameronCounty, and -one-"third -to -H. "'-Barnum,' Hidalgo County,:Tex.

A ADBlinationMarch 12, 1952', Serial No. 276,117

removedin order to obtain the highest possible fkill on-boll weevil and pink boll worms.

'PIn'the usual-cotton fields the stalks of' the :plants remain in substantially upright'pcsitions and the b'oll weevil and pink boll worms continue "to feed on the stalks. Various typesof devices have been provided for raking and otherwise removing the stalks from thefields and'it is'also necessary to addfertilizer to the soilito compensate for the productsremoved from the soil with'each'crop. With this thought "in'mind-"this invention contemplates a device that when drawn over a cotton field chops and shreds the stalks of the cotton whereby the nests-and food for boll weevil are destroyed and so that the:plants emaybe returned to the soil.

'i .The-sobjectv of thisinvention is, therefore; to

-.: .provide-'means for mounting a pluralityofichopping blades whereby the blades, when drawn over a cotton field after the cotton bolls are removed, cut the stalks just above the ground and chop the stalks into comparatively fine particles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cotton stalk shredding machine which cuts stalks positioned vertically, laterally, and at substantially any angle between a vertical and a horizontal position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cotton stalk shredding machine which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a'horizontally disposed shaft having spaced radially disposed arms extended therefrom with vertical and horizontally disposed blades carried by levers pivotally mounted on the ends of the arms and means for enclosing and mounting the shaft whereby it may be attached to a tractor and rotated from a power take off connection of the tractor.

Other features and advantages of the inven- 2 tion will appear from' the followingdescription "takeninconnectionwith the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 Ba side--elevational view of the-attachmentyillustrating theposition thereof "in relation to a tractorgto which it is connected.

"Figure 2 is a sectional plan through the attachmentbeing taken on 1ine"2-2 of Fig. l.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through "the device illustrating the positions of" the" cutting in elements-in relation to-guide bars or shoes that travel on'the'ground.

"Figure 4 is a detaiL-on an enlarged scale; illustrating one of the cutting blade carrying arms.

. Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectiontaken on line l5 5+5 of Fig. 4 illustrating the construction ofone of the blade carrying arms.

' Figure 6 is a detailillustrating one of the vertically disposed bladesof the device.

' Figure '7 is a similar view showing oneof the horizontally disposed blades.

"Referring-now to the'drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts therimprovedcotton stock shredding machineof "this inventionincludes a shaft l d having radially disposedarms-including-plates Hand iZsecu-red to, arms 9- extended' from hubs [3 on thefshaft with rivets i4 and I5; blade'carrying levers i B- and l pivotally mounted in the, ends of the arms with "pins" l8;vertically*disposed blades 19' positioned between the levers l6 and I1 and horizontaHydisposed blades 29 mounted on the ends of thelevers, said device being-mounted in a suitable housing and said housing having suitableguide and at- :taching; means and also means for driving *the ""shaftfrom the-power take off-of a'tractor.

In the design shown the shaft it is "journaled in bearings 2| and 22 on horizontally disposed bars 23 and 24 carried by end plates 25 and 25 of substantially semi-cylindrical housing 21, as

shown in Fig. 2. The shaft is also supported at the center with a bearing 28 which is mounted on a partition 29 extended through the center of the housing.

The shaft is rotated by belts 30 trained over a pulley 3i on the shaft and also over a pulley 32 on a countershaft 33 that is driven by beveled gears 34 and 35 from a power take off 36 through a telescoping shaft 31 having universal joints 38 and 39 therein, the gear 35 being mounted on a stub shaft 40, extended from the universal joint The gears 34 and 35 are mounted in a gear case 4|, the stub shaft 40 being journaled in a bearing 42 in a cap 43 at one end of the case and the shaft 33 being journaled in a bearing 44 in a cylindrical section 45 at one side of the case. The bearing 44 is secured in position with a bushing 46. The opposite end of the shaft 33 is mounted with a bearing 41 in a bearing cap 48 on a section 49 at one end of the housing. The pulleys 3! and 32 and belts 30 are covered with a casing 50 that is secured to the end of the housing with bolts in a flange 52 on the edge thereof.

The blade I9 is provided with openings 53 and 54 that are positioned to receive rivets 55 and 5-3, respectively, extended through corresponding openings in the levers l6 and 11, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The blade 20 is also provided with openings as indicated by the numerals 51 and 58, and these openings are positioned to receive rivets 59 and 60, respectively extended through flanges SI and 62 on the end of the levers l6 and H, as shown in Fig. 5.

As illustrated in Fig. 3 the housing 21 is provided with end sections or skirts 53 and 64 and the gear case 4! is mounted on a horizontally disposed plate 55 carried by the forward side of the housing. The end sections 63 and 64 are supported from the housing and also from the plate 65 with struts 56 and 61 and a dividing shoe 68, the forward end of which is also attached to one of the struts 66, is supported at the opposite end with a strut 69. The dividing shoe 68 parts the stalks moving the stalks toward either side where they will be cut by the cutters, and the end sections or skirts 63 and 64, hold the vacuum into the machine and also elevate the housing over hummocks and the like to prevent the blades cutting into the ground.

The housin is also provided with a truss link In and a lock bar 12, the link ill being connected to cars '13 with a pin 14 and arms H being attached to struts 15 on the plate 55 with pins '55 on which the bar 12 is mounted. The ears iii are provided on the upper ends of a strut 71 that is secured to the housing 21 with a strap 78. The end of the strap 78 extends over the housing 2? and the forward end is attached to a transversely disposed angle 79 and, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the ends of the members 23 and 24 are also secured to the ends of the angle bar 19.

The link I0 and arms ll may be mounted on the attachment by other suitable means and the opposite ends may be attached to parts of the tractor as desired.

It will also be understood that the connections of the struts l1, lock bar 12 and the members H and 15 may be formed to correspond with different types of tractors to which the attachment is connected or upon which the attachment is mounted.

With the attachment provided in this manner and attached to a tractor by suitable means the housing is drawn across the field with the lower edge of the housing spaced above the ground, and as the shaft IB is rotated by the power take off of the tractor the cutting blades swing around the shaft, as illustrated in Fig. 3 with the horizontally disposed blades chopping stalks that are vertically positioned and with the radially extended blades chopping stalks that slant or are in horizontally disposed positions. By this means the cotton stalks are chopped and substantially shredded or pulverized and the final product is returned to the soil whereby the substance removed from the soil by the growth of the plants is returned.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claim, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In a vegetation shredder, the combination which comprises a transversely disposed shaft, a transversely extending housing having a lower end in which the shaft is rotatably mounted with the shaft spaced above the lower end of the housing, hubs having arms extended therefrom mounted on said shaft, a pair of parallel plates secured to the arms of the hubs and extended radially from the shaft, spaced levers positioned betwen the plates and extended therefrom, pins extended through the plates and levers for pivotally mounting the levers in the extended ends of the plates, cutting blades positioned between and secured to the levers, said blades having cutting edges converging from the extended ends toward the pivotal mounting points thereof, said levers having flanges positioned at right angles thereto, on extended ends thereof, and diamond shaped cutting blades secured to said flanges and positioned perpendicular to the levers and plates with the levers and plates vertically positioned, the pivotal points at which the levers are connected to the plates being positioned whereby the length of the levers is less than that of the plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,698,724 Johnston et al Jan. 15, 1929 2,506,054 Agee et al. May 2, 1950 2,597,485 Hillyer May 20, 1952 

